Wrench-tool handle grip



y 25, 1965 R. A. VIATOR 3,185,001

WRENCH-TOOL HANDLE GRIP Filed NOV. 12, 1963 United States Patent 3,185,001 WRENCH-TOOL HANDLE G Rodney A. Viator, New Orleans, La.

{P.O. Box 273, Delcambre, La.) Filed Nov. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 322,946 4 Claims. (Cl. 81-177) My invention is directed toward new and improved wrenches.

It is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved wrench which can be firmly and securely gripped by the hand when in use.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved wrench of the character indicated which can be manufactured easily and which can be constructed in a very simple manner.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of my invention will either be explained, or will become apparent when this specification is studied in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view along line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view along line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective fragmentary view of a modification of my invention;

FIGURE 6 shows the modification of FIGURE 5 in use;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 5 without the flexible insert; and

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 5, with the insert.

Referring now to FIGURES 1-4, a wrench identified generally at 10 contains a flat head 12 having a rectangular cut-away portion 14 for grasping bolts, nuts and the like. An upwardly oifset handle 16 is secured at one end to head 12 and is integral therewith. Handle 16 tapers downward in cross-section from head 12 to the tip end 18. The end portion 20 adjacent tip 18 is generally eliptical in cross section and carries a transverse bore 22 from which the wrench can be hung. As handle 16 widens out at 24 from portion 20, the cross section approaches a rectangle in shape. The portion 26 extending between portion 24 and head 12 carries four transverse bores 28, 3t), 32 and 34, of rectangular cross-section, each of these bores being filled with a corresponding tubular insert 36 of resilient material such as rubber, the lengths of these inserts being larger than the thickness of the handle for gripping engagement by the hand oft e user. To assist in this action, portion 26 carries notches 38 in which the fingers of the hand fit.

Alternatively, as shown in FIGURES 5-8, portion 26 can comprise two hollow half sections, upper half 50 and lower half 52. These sections carry four vertical transverse bores 54 (only three of which are shown), and four horizontal transverse bores 56 (only three of which are shown). Each horizontal bore 56 is aligned with and intersects the corresponding vertical bore. A suitably shaped hollow rubber member 58 fits in each set of aligned bores, the portion 60 of member 58 fitting in the vertical bore extending outside of the wrench handle, the portion 62 of member 58 fitting in the horizontal bore normally being flush with the handle. When the handle is gripped, as shown in FIGURE 6, the portion 60 of member 58 fitting in the vertical bore is compressed, while the portion 62 in the horizontal bore is expanded and extends beyond the surface of the handle for ease in gripping.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to the drawings, my protection is to be limited only by the terms of the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. A wrench comprising an enlongated handle having a work engaging head at one end, said handle carrying a plurality of spaced apart vertical bores extending transversely therethrough, said handle further carrying a like plurality of spaced apart horizontal bores extending transversely therethrough, each of said horizontal bores being aligned with and intersecting the corresponding vertical bore, and each of said aligned bores being provided with suitably shaped cornpressable and expandable resilient means extending into the aligned bores for gripping engagement by the hand of the user.

2. A wrench as set forth in claim 1, wherein said horizontal bores are of circular cross-sections and that portion of each of said suitably shaped hollow rubber means extending into the horizontal bores is also of a circular cross-section.

3. A wrench as set forth in claim 2, wherein said resilient means within each aligned horizontal and vertical bore pair are hollow in construction.

4. A wrench as set forth in claim 3, wherein the portion of each hollow resilient means fitting in the vertical bore extends beyond each respective side of the handle and the portion fitting in the horizontal bore is essentially flush with the sides of the handle so that when the handle is gripped by the hand of the user the vertical portion is compressed whereby the horizontal portion is expanded and caused to extend beyond each respective side of the handle to provide additional gripping capacity.

Rei'erences (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/49 Grigalunas 81--177 X 7/52 Boutte 31-177 

1. A WRENCH COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HANDLE HAVING A WORK ENGAGING HEAD AT ONE END, SAID HANDLE CARRYING A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART VERTICAL BORES EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THERETHROUGH, SAID HANDLE FURTHER CARRYING A LIKE PLURALITY OF SPACED APART HORIZONTAL BORES EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THERETHROUGH, EACH OF SAID HORIZONTAL BORES BEING ALIGNED WITH AND INTERSECTING THE CORRESPONDING VERTICAL BORE, AND EACH OF SAID ALIGNED BORES BEING PROVIDED WITH SUITABLY SHAPED COMPRESSIBLE AND EXPANDABLE RESILIENT MEANS EXTENDING INTO THE ALIGNED BORES FOR GRIPPING ENGAGEMENT BY THE HAND OF THE USER. 